WASHINGTON — The Ariane 5 rocket that deviated from its expected flight path Jan. 25 and lost contact with ground control was fed the wrong coordinates, according to the independent commission Arianespace tasked last month to find out what caused the close call. Both telecommunications satellites onboard the rocket safely reached orbit despite the flight anomaly but will need to burn additional fuel to reach their perch some 36,000 kilometers above the equator. The European Space Agency-led independent enquiry commission concluded that Ariane 5’s inertial navigation system was fed the…

This article originally appeared in the Jan. 29, 2018 issue of SpaceNews magazine. Satellite network operator Quika Ltd. is launching an “entirely free” internet service this spring in Afghanistan and Iraq and plans to reach nearly half of all African nations this summer. Announced this month at the Cabsat 2018 conference in Dubai, the Quika Free service relies on leased Ka-band satellite capacity to deliver what its founders are calling “the world’s first entirely free high-speed satellite internet for consumers in developing countries.” There is a catch, though: Quika Free…

WASHINGTON — Two satellites placed into incorrect orbits by an Ariane 5 that suffered an anomaly during its Jan. 25 launch can be recovered and placed into their desired orbits, their operators said Jan. 26. Arianespace of Evry, France, in a statement released Jan. 26, blamed a “trajectory deviation” for the break in communication with the rocket, which stopped sending telemetry 9 minutes and 26 seconds after liftoff, seconds after the rocket’s second stage engine ignited. The Ariane 5 lifted off from Europe’s Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, South…

Updated at 8:49 p.m. Eastern. WASHINGTON — Two satellites launched Thursday evening on an Ariane 5 are in orbit following a harrowing lapse of communication between ground teams and the launcher within 10 minutes of liftoff. The Ariane 5 lifted off at 5:20 p.m. EST from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana carrying the SES-14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites. About 27 minutes after liftoff, Arianespace’s live webcast of the launch indicated separation of the first satellite, SES-14. The second satellite, Al Yah 3, riding in the rocket’s…

How to watch the rocket launch The Ariane 5 ECA rocket is due to launch from Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, between 10.20pm and 11.05pm on Thursday January 25. The entire launch sequence will be available to view for free using the video link above. The stream will begin at 10.05pm GMT, according to Arianespace, and will be available on all computers, consoles and mobile devices. Arianespace’s signature Ariane 5 rocket will carry a payload of two communications satellites into orbit. Its mission description reads: “For its first…

When is the Arianespace launch? The Ariane 5 ECA rocket is due to launch between 10.20pm and 11.05pm on Thursday January 25. Carrying two communications satellites as its payload, the rocket will blast off from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Its mission description reads: “For its first launch of 2018, Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana to launch the SES-14 and Al Yah 3 satellites for operators SES and Yahsat (Al Yah Satellite Communications Company). “With this 295th mission…

WASHINGTON — European launch provider Arianespace expects to conduct just 23 more Ariane 5 launches before the next-generation Ariane 6 becomes its primary rocket. The final Ariane 5s will launch between 2020 and 2022, overlapping with the first three years of Ariane 6 missions. Arianespace ordered the final 10 Ariane 5 boosters Jan. 9, placing a billion-plus euro contract with ArianeGroup to build the rockets while spinning up the first Ariane 6 rockets. Currently a mainstay of the space launch sector, the Ariane 5 has launched 96 times since debuting…

WASHINGTON — Satellite manufacturer Orbital ATK on Nov. 28 shipped Yahsat’s long-awaited Al Yah 3 high-throughput satellite to French Guiana for an Ariane 5 launch now scheduled for January. The hybrid satellite, equipped with a chemical propulsion system to reach orbit and electric thrusters for station-keeping once in place, slipped almost a year past its initial completion date, a delay Orbital ATK attributed to Al Yah 3 being the first of its kind. Al Yah 3 is Orbital ATK’s first satellite built on GEOStar-3, the company’s new platform for satellites…

WASHINGTON — Arianespace completed the company’s tenth launch this year Nov. 7, delivering a Moroccan Earth observation satellite to low-Earth orbit on a Vega rocket. The mission, Arianespace’s penultimate for the year, marks the 11th consecutive success for the Avio-supplied Vega, a light-lift rocket that has picked up a regular cadence now within the Arianespace family of rockets. Vega took off at 8:42 p.m. Eastern from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana with Morocco’s Mohammed 6-A satellite. The rocket’s three solid stages — all with engines from Rome-based Avio…